Prices owner-occupied houses up in Amsterdam and The Hague

23/04/2014 15:00

Prices of owner-occupied houses (excluding new constructions) are falling less rapidly. Residential property prices over the first quarter of 2014 were 1.5 percent down from one year previously and the smallest in three years. In Amsterdam and The Hague, house prices have risen in the first quarter; in Amsterdam by no less than 2.6 percent.

Modest prices decrease in province of North Holland

Price developments vary considerably by region. In the provinces of Groningen en Friesland, average house prices fell by more than 3 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. In the provinces of North Holland and Utrecht, house prices declined by less than 1 percent. The modest decrease in the province of North Holland is partly due to an increase by 2.6 percent of residential property prices in Amsterdam, the first increase since 2011. In The Hague, house prices rose by 1.7 percent in the first quarter relative to one year previously.

Price developments owner-occupied houses by region, 1st quarter 2014

More activity on the housing market

The 1.5 percent price cut over the first quarter is the smallest since the first quarter of 2011. In the first half of 2013, house prices dropped by more than 8 percent, in the latter half by just over 4 percent. In fact, prices rose marginally by 0.6 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2013.

The number of registered house sales shows an upward trend. House sales have risen continually over the past three quarters. In the first quarter of this year, the Land Registry Office recorded an increase in the number of house sales by 25 percent to 28,963, the same as in the first quarter of 2011.